


Café con Leche

by VioletWiz



Series: A Lotta Brains and No Polish [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Happy ending though, Lams isn't happening, Lonely Alex, Mild Angst, Smol Hamilton, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:23:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9374222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletWiz/pseuds/VioletWiz
Summary: All great men need to start somewhere, and for Alexander Hamilton it's at LaGuardia Airport.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like it! Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> If you don't speak Spanish, translations are in the notes at the end of the fic.
> 
> PS I'm gonna be adding a lot more to this series so if you like it, bookmark it!

Alexander Hamilton, for the first time in his life, had no idea wired there he was going. The moment he stepped off the plane in LaGuardia, all he could comprehend was the masses of people. He figured that there were more people in this one throng than in all of Vega Alta, or at least it seemed that way with how everyone was in a hurry.

"Stop staring and get moving! We don't have all day!"

One of the members of the plane Hamilton had gotten off of had already had his patience worn thin.

"Lo siento señor, sólo estoy tratando de averiguar a dónde voy."

Hamilton was met with only a dirty look and a shove out of the way. 

"Oye, ¿para que era eso?"

When the man didn't turn, Hamilton suddenly realized.

_Oh, people don't speak Spanish here. Duh._  

Thankfully, Hamilton was able to find his way to the baggage carousel and wait for his checked bag. While he was there, he tried to use his phone to look for the fastest route to Columbia University.

_NYC. What a place to live 24/7._

The only route he could find was for a bus that didn't leave for another 30 minutes. He guessed that there had to be something faster in a city that had so many people to move around. He saw a woman with a baby on her stomach in a sling, a phone in one hand and a little boy's arm in the other hand. 

"Yes, George, I'm gonna get back home soon, it's just an extra connecting flight!...Yes I'll call you soon...Love you too."

When the mother hung up her phone, Hamilton saw his chance.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I was wondering if you know how to get to Columbia University to here?"

The mother smiled kindly at Hamilton, which he gratefully appreciated.

"No need ma'am, I can remember it all!" Hamilton said confidently.

The mother raised an eyebrow. "Ok, then, if you say so!"

 She told him the directions, and Hamilton repeated them in his head. Apparently New York's transit system was a bit more complicated than the 16 subway stops in San Juan. God forbid he should get lost on his first day.

_Bus to Roosevelt and 111th, Line 7 to Times Square and 42nd, Line 1 to Columbia._

_"_ Might I ask what you want to do at Columbia?"

Hamilton stood a little straighter, with a sparkle in his eyes. "I'm studying political science and economics. I'm going to be a federal politician!"

The mother looked at him fondly for a moment, as if she were seeing something familiar, and then asked "Would you be offended if I gave you some advice?"

Hamilton shook his head.

"The road to politics is long and rocky. Trust me, I know! But I think that you have potential. Just find what is best for the people and stick to it."

"Thank you so much, Mrs., um..."

"Martha. My name is Martha. And your bus leaves in 5 minutes." 

One hasty goodbye and 7-day MetroPass later, Hamilton was on the bus to his subway station. 

_Bus to Roosevelt and 111th, Line 7 to Times Square and 42nd, Line 1 to Columbia. Bus to Roosevelt and 111th, Line 7 to Times Square and 42nd, Line 1 to Columbia._

As Hamilton looked out the window of the crowded bus, he saw the billboards, apartments, businesses, and restaurants that all called NYC home. 

_This is not a whole lot like San Juan._

For a moment he worried that he wouldn't be able to fit in, but before he could start to stress the bus ground to a halt.

_Line 7 to Times Square and 42nd._

Hamilton hopped on the subway car just before the doors closed and it was whisked away. As the train travelled on the path it had taken hundreds upon hundreds of times, Hamilton pulled out his class schedule that he had printed in the library back in Puerto Rico. 

_Introduction to American Politics. Calculus I. Frontiers of Science. Literature Humanities. Contemporary Civilization._

He knew nothing of the courses but their titles, locations, and teachers, but Hamilton knew that a world of knowledge lay at his fingertips, only waiting for him to grab it. His first class would be politics, his dream to study for years, and he could not wait to learn. Halfway through the subway ride, it occurred to him that the station he was getting off at was Times Square.

_Is it_ that  _Times Square?_

It was, in fact, that Times Square. Hamilton took a moment to gape in wonder at the huge marquees and skyscrapers that truly seemed to touch the sky. 

_Maybe one day I'll get to see one of those shows._

Alex felt giddy and nearly tripped in his excitement.

_Maybe one day I'll be a_ character  _in one of those shows!_

_Line 1 to Columbia._

One last subway ride. Hamilton felt anxious to see the university campus. Would it live up to the pictures? Would he be able to make connections with people? He hoped that it wouldn't be so foreign to him that he couldn't ever call it home.

The subway stopped, and Hamilton headed up the stairs to the sunlight. When he saw Columbia's campus in person for the very first time, those fears were wiped clean. He basked in the buildings made of marble and brick, their walls nearly humming with the residual electricity of hundreds of years of knowledge and learning.

Once he got out of his reverie, Hamilton pulled out his map and tried to find his next class. While he was absorbed in finding the building, he walked straight into a taller guy, who scoffed in annoyance. Alex looked up to see the sneer on his face.

"Oh I am  _so_ sorry, I just needed to get to my dorm, I'm a freshman and I love campus already, say do you happen to have directions for-"

"Talk less."

Alex was taken aback. "What?"

"Smile more. People will like you more if you don't talk their ears off."

With that, the stranger strode past Hamilton, but Hamilton kept running after him anyways.

"But you didn't answer me!"

The stranger didn't even turn his head. "Dorms don't open for move-in for another two hours."

With that, the stranger turned into a building. Hamilton looked around for somewhere he could sit and wait.

_Starbucks. Perfect._

When he walked into the Starbucks, he got in line and tried to pick a drink from the menu board.

_Frappuccino_ _? Flat white? Refresher? What are those?_

For the first time since he left Puerto Rico, Alex felt homesick. After a few moment's wait, he got to the front of the line. He was greeted by a friendly face with long curly hair and a smattering of freckles.

"What'll it be?"

Alex looked at the menu again and decided to take his chances.

"Can I have a café con leche?

"Sorry, we don't offer that here. Do you want something else instead?"

Alex stared fruitlessly at the menu board before the barista intervened. 

"You know what, I'll make you one. You can't go your first day at college without café!"

Alex smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much" - sneaking a look at his name tag "John."

"No problem at all! You can call me Laurens, by the way. My last name."

"I'm Alexander Hamilton."

Laurens dropped his voice an octave. "You know, I'd take a seat by the window. Gives you a prime view of the ladies of Columbia!"

Alex looked baffled. "Do you honestly think they'd go for a puertoriqueño who can't even grow peach fuzz?"

Laurens laughed. "You're a good man, Mr. Hamilton."

Alex chuckled as he took his coffee and paid for it. "You as well, Laurens!"

Hamilton did end up taking a window seat, mainly for the view it offered of the quad and the sprawling trees that shadowed it. The smell of coffee and milk reminded him of the home he had known for the first 19 years of his life. Suddenly he was reminded of a conversation he had with his mother when he was 9, when he had first told her of his future dreams. He had gone to her with his back straight and chest puffed forward, ready to tell her his big decision the way only a little boy can.

"Mamá, ¡Quiero hacer leyes cuando crezca!"

Mamá laughed softly and kept folding laundry. " ¿Y cómo planeas hacer eso, mi hijito?"

Alex's face suddenly lost its confidence. "Yo no se."

Mamá looked at him with a mother's all knowing gaze. "¿Quieres ser un político? Necesitas ir a Nueva York cuando seas mayor, entonces."

"¿Por qué Nueva York?"

"Porque Nueva York tiene los colegios más buenos en toda la nación para ciencias políticas."

Alex furrowed his brow with determination. "Entonces, eses es mi objectivo!"

Mamá smiled gently. "Bueno, mi hijito. Ahora, hazlo."

Alex, 10 years later, had finally accomplished that dream. He felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he sipped his café at Columbia, still no believing it was true.

_ Columbia University. My new home. _

He kissed his mother's wedding ring, which he wore on a chain around his neck.

_ Gracias, Mamá. _

**Author's Note:**

> Translations for Spanish -  
> "Lo siento señor, sólo estoy tratando de averiguar a dónde voy." - I'm sorry sir, I was only trying to figure out where I'm going.  
> "Oye, ¿para que era eso?" - Hey, what was that for?  
> "Mamá, ¡Quiero hacer leyes cuando crezca!" - Mama, I want to make laws when I grow up!  
> "¿Y cómo planeas hacer eso, mi hijito?" - And how do you plan to do that, my little boy?  
> "Yo no se." - I don't know.  
> "¿Quieres ser un político? Necesitas ir a Nueva York cuando seas mayor, entonces." - You want to be a politician? You have to go to New York when you're older, then.  
> "¿Por qué Nueva York?" - Why New York?  
> "Porque Nueva York tiene los colegios más buenos en toda la nación para ciencias políticas." - Because New York has the best colleges in the country for political science.  
> "Entonces, eses es mi objectivo!" - Then that's my goal!  
> "Bueno, mi hijito. Ahora, hazlo." - Good, my little boy. Now, do it.


End file.
